About HMF

Community Awareness Program

HMF conducts community awareness programs and campaigns related to women’s health, sanitation and hygiene, child marriage, dowry system and invests efforts to educate the community through a variety of communication tools.

Street Plays

HMF initiated street lays in 1996 in the earthquake-affected region. The use of street plays (Savdhan Kalapathak – Local Marathi word for Street Play) has proven to be a very effective medium for health education. Generally, in rural areas, many people enjoy watching street plays. HMF’s model of street plays uses traditional folk songs to address issues such as child marriage, alcoholism, and sanitation. Each program lasts about 2-3 hours and has been very successful in creating dialogue among community members. HMF staff members design the content of street plays and also perform in the plays.

Past Campaigns and Rallies

1. Anti-Child Marriage

Within our project area, the traditional belief is that a girl is ready to be married as soon as she begins menstruation, often around the age of 14. A girl is usually not asked for her opinion on marriage or even her choice of husband before the wedding takes place. Despite laws prohibiting child marriage, early marriages were on the rise due to poor enforcement. Therefore HMF understands the need to undertake campaigns against early marriage.

To build awareness in the community on the issue of child marriage, HMF staff performed small street plays through its project area. The street plays educated community members on the physical development of the girl child and addressed the importance of her education. One skit showed how the police can be used to stop the marriage of the girl and bring charges against her parents.

HMF also engaged the local governance committee at the village level and trained them to intervene in case of child marriages. The trust also conducted seminars and focus group discussions with local police authorities and judicial officials regarding child marriage and domestic violence.

2. Anti-Alcohol

The sale of alcohol is a huge concern for villagers, as consumption and addiction can cause family tension and violence. HMFs Self Help Groups decided to tackle this issue and have undertaken Anti-Alcohol Campaigns in several villages to stop the illegal sale of alcohol. HMF functions by involving Self Help Group members, local governance authorities, Block development officers and other government officials. Interestingly, some of the SHGs provided loans to local women who were previously involved in alcohol sale in an effort to have these women begin businesses other than liquor sale.

3. Anti-Sex Selective Abortion Campaign

With falling fertility rates and a preference for male sons, sex-selective abortions are a huge concern for India's growing population. This practice is illegal, and any doctors suspected of such activity can be punished. In HMF's project area, staff has worked closely with Self-Help Group members to encourage continuation of pregnancy no matter the sex of the fetus.

HMF ran a campaign throughout 70 villages in Tuljapur and Lohara Blocks to encourage families to keep a female child. In each village, HMF coordinated street plays and focus group discussions with village members about the practice. HMF conveyed to community members about the legal ramifications if they were caught practicing sex-selective abortions. During the campaign, SHG members counselled in 16 cases for families not to consider a sex-selective abortion. In all cases, the pregnancy was not terminated and the delivery was successful.

Since then, SHG members have been working within their community to discourage the use of sex-selective abortions. They work with couples to ensure that all children are cared for and given full life opportunities.